Symmetrical
by catn

Comment by Salo8899:
Great job!

Symmetrical
by catn

Comment by jgm5015:
I can't believe you took this with a P100... well done

"Stewardess, Prepare for Takeoff"
by catn

Comment by edekker:
Nice.. a lower perspective could made this more dramatic.

"Stewardess, Prepare for Takeoff"
by catn

Comment by Registered:
Heavenly

"Stewardess, Prepare for Takeoff"
by catn

Comment by topdogg157:
i give it a 5

"Stewardess, Prepare for Takeoff"
by catn

Comment by jpdeloof:
have difficult to see the correspondence of the imposed subject and the result. The photograph in itself is not too ugly

Magnets From Places I've Gone To
by catn

Comment by strangeghost:
Greetings from the Critique Club
by strangeghost

COMPOSITION
The composition is rather ordinary, seems to be facing the refrigerator surface square on. A more oblique angle, or even having somebody hold something up in front to focus the attention (another memento from a trip?) might have helped to add interest. As shot, there are too many similar items competing for attention and no reason for the viewer to remain interested. Another way to accomplish this is to arrange the magnets in an interesting pattern, perhaps leaving some unused "negative" space that adds an element of visual curiosity.

TECHNIQUE
Two things immediately come to mind with this shot: lighting and focus. The light appears to be normal room lights from above, which has created large diffuse shadows that give the image an overall muddy feel. This might not have been bad if it had not been combined with a very soft focus. Given your shutter speed of 1/10 second, it looks like you attempted to hand-hold this shot, which is a huge no-no at those speeds. There's no way you can hold your camera still enough to obtain a sharp shot at anything less than 1/60th or so. Use a tripod or brace yourself against a firm surface and shoot very carefully.

OVERALL IMPACT
Not a very eye-catching photo, and one that is likely to annoy voters due to the technical shortcomings. An ordinary composition like this can work, but to do so it much be technically perfect.



Commenters were very fixated on the focus elements, as I suspected they would. Your final score of 3.7 was surely a disappointment to you, but you probably understand the reason for it now. Keep shooting and work on those technical details! I see from your portfolio that you've done some outstanding work. I look forward to seeing more of you!

"Stewardess, Prepare for Takeoff"
by catn

Comment by greslizzz:
Perfect shutter speed...

"Stewardess, Prepare for Takeoff"
by catn

Comment by Mikelangelo:
Nice timing!

"Stewardess, Prepare for Takeoff"
by catn

Comment by AzCKelly:
Nice capture. Love the pose, Good eye!